EAT.SHOP.ROCK a big success
Thousands come out to Chamber event
EAT.SHOP.ROCK. was a huge success for the Rockville Centre Chamber of Commerce last weekend, drawing thousands of people to the village and many new customers to its businesses.
The street fair was different from previous years in that only Rockville Centre businesses set up booths at the event on South Park Avenue. The block was capped off on either end with stages, where live acts performed throughout the day. Many of the acts were from local music and dance centers.
“I think it was a very successful day for the chamber and the vendors as well,” said Jeff Blasko, owner of Empowered Wellness and co-chair of the Chamber’s EAT.SHOP.ROCK committee.
Businesses on Park Avenue opened their doors wide and other businesses from all over town put up booths. Many of the Park Avenue restaurants had seating set up on the sidewalk and in the street, giving diners a unique opportunity to have an outdoor meal in Rockville Centre.
“Some of the retailers said they did two to four times more business than they did on the same day last year,” Blasko said. “I noticed the restaurants that had table service, their outdoor tables were full, with a waiting list, and that’s a much busier lunch than they usually have.”
The event ran from noon to 9 p.m. Blasko said that the crowd thinned out a bit as the day went on, but that the night had a definite “block party feel” to it.
“We’re definitely going to do it again next year,” said Blasko. “A lot of the places are asking us to do it once a month. I don’t know about that, but we’re looking at doing similar events. Doing more with the village to draw people in.”
